The Borgia Steps

- Roma Viva.

The Borgia Steps

The Borgia Steps lead off from Via Cavour and go up to the Colle Oppio, one of the peaks of the Esquiline Hill. This is the site of the ancient Vicus Sceleratus where, according to legend, Tullia ran her chariot over the body of her father, King Servius Tullius .
These steps which take you up to the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli pass under the palace which belonged to the Borgia family

Previously, in the Middle Ages, it was owned by the Cesarini family, at that time the most powerful in this area. They subsequently sold it to their allies, the Borgias.
This building was probably the home of Vannozza, the notorious mother of Pope Alexander VI's children, Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. The Borgia family originally came from Valencia, Spain, and have gone down in history for their dissolution and, in particular, for Cesare's violence. He was famed for his prowess with women and Machiavelli admired him as a symbol of Renaissance princely power.
It seems that it was from this very palace that Juan Borgia, Alexander's first-born son, came out on June 14, 1497, only to be killed by his brother Cesare and then thrown into the Tiber.